Category: Diplomatic

N.Korea: Incremental Strategy

Bush Rebuffs Hard-Liners To Ease North Korean Curbs
(New York Times)…Helene Cooper, June 27, 2008

…In the internal Bush administration war between the State Department and Mr. Cheney’s office over North Korea, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her top North Korea envoy, Christopher R. Hill, won a major battle against the Cheney camp when President Bush announced Thursday that he was taking the country he once described as part of the “axis of evil” off the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

But the declaration falls short of the full accounting that the administration had sought, since it omits any information about North Korea’s suspected efforts to enrich uranium, or the extent of any of the North’s sharing of technology around the world.

Removing N. Korea from the terrorism blacklist is significant.

Supreme Court, War, Civil Rights

Having Judges On The Battlefield, (Wall Street Journal)…Andrew McBride, June 21, 2008, Pg. 7

The Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush is being hailed in many quarters as a great victory for civil rights and the rule of law. It is not. In fact, it is a watershed in judicial hubris, and in the continuing trend in our society to convert every form of decision making into a lawsuit.

Refugee Life

Iraq Study: Refugee Life Of Women, Kids Hard
(Arizona Daily Star (Tucson))…Associated Press

Women and children have been hit especially hard in Iraq’s refugee crisis, often forced to beg and in some cases turn to prostitution to provide for their families because so many men have been killed, a report said Friday.

FCS Funding

Army Touts New Technology (Wall Street Journal)…August Cole, June 13, 2008, Pg. 11

With work on the 2009 defense budget expected to continue through the fall, the Army brought the first FCS prototypes, including a 27-ton hybrid diesel-electric, tanklike cannon and other high-tech systems, to lawmakers’ doorstep this week. The White House requested $3.6 billion for the program in 2009.

The Senate Armed Services Committee said it wants to fully fund FCS in order to give the program a chance to succeed. Cuts, even small ones, can have ripple effects that slow development and hurt suppliers. So far, the cuts add up to about $1 billion, Boeing says.

But the House Armed Services Committee wants to slice about $200 million from the program, just as it sought cuts last year.

The Army is counting on Future Combat Systems to give it new networking and communications abilities, as well as more sophisticated ground vehicles and added firepower.

The program has 14 components, including remotely controlled aerial and ground vehicles. Some technologies are already in use while others, like bigger armored vehicles, won’t be ready for a few years. The first Future Combat Systems-equipped brigade is set for 2015.

Detainees – Day in court

Detainees Now Have Access To Federal Court. (Washington Post)…Josh White and Del Quentin Wilber, June 13, 2008
Pg. 4

Defense attorneys for the 270 detainees at Guantanamo Bay said the Supreme Court decision yesterday that granted detainees habeas corpus rights was a watershed moment that will allow the men, some held for as long as 6 1/2 years, to challenge their detentions before a civilian judge.

Whole Government Approach – State

State Dept. begins to identify diplomats for Iraq duty. USA Today, May 27, 2008, Washington (AP).

The State Department has begun to identify diplomats who could be forced to serve in Iraq next year unless enough volunteers come forward to fill about 300 positions, the Associated Press has learned.

Similar to me on the previous posting on planning for auditors.  Radical change requires a long-term commitment of  resources as well as a “whole government” approach.

Presidential Elections – Red, States, Blue States, Nation States ..

ARTICLE: Our Enemies And The Election, Wall Street Journal, Gabriel Schoenfeld, May 10, 2008, Pg. 11

…Ever since October 1972, when Henry Kissinger, then Richard Nixon’s national security adviser, announced that “peace is at hand” in Vietnam, an October surprise – or the impending possibility of one – has been a perennial feature of American political life. Will a dramatic foreign-policy development tip the electoral balance this year? Several factors have converged to make this more probable than in any recent election.

In addition to red states and blue states, nation states and terrorist groups (altered states) sharing opinions on the presidential candidates to include: Hamas, Russia, North Korea, Venezuela, Iranians ….

May not be anything new  but direct action to influence outcomes would be the “surprise.”

Wild Cards – National Power

ARTICLE: Where The Wild Cards Are (Washington Post)…David Ignatius, May 8, 2008
Pg. 23

The potentially transforming events in the 2008 campaign are matters of war and peace. Both may be in play between now and November, in ways that add extra volatility to the presidential race. Let’s start with war: The United States is already fighting two of them, in Iraq and Afghanistan. But judging from recent statements by administration officials, there is also a small, but growing, chance of conflict with Iran.

The 2008 campaign has been so mesmerizing that it’s easy to forget what’s going on out in the real world that could disrupt, once again, the certitudes of the pollsters and strategists. The campaign in recent weeks has focused on pocketbook issues because of worries about a deep recession. But as these economic anxieties fade a bit, we are likely to return to the ground zero of the Middle East, and to the themes of war and peace that will be interwoven through the remainder of this campaign.

Dalai Lama vs China

ARTICLE: Dalai Lama Envoys Ready For Talks
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)…Unattributed, May 3, 2008

The Dalai Lama’s envoys headed for China to hold the first talks with Chinese officials since violent protests erupted in Tibet. China has faced more calls to negotiate with Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, and many believe it agreed to the talks in a bid to ease the pressure ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

The Dalai Llama provides one of the world’s better examples of promoting the Diplomatic element of power to resolve challenging issues. Tibet aims to obtain autonomy; China considers autonomy synonymous with independence that they fiercely oppose.